Recollections of Holi

Dear Nemaste,

Colours filled the sky.

Red.

Blue.

White.

Not a single face was untouched without a smile. The streets were filled with laughter, water and eggs. Eggs? Yes, Nemaste. Even though it’s been quite a while, I will always remember this day. The memories are blurry, yet I will always remember.

It was Holi. The one Nepali holiday that I didn’t dread. There weren’t endless red tikkas being pressed to your forehead. Or loud bells that left a ring to your ear. Or bhajans being sung into one ear and leaving through the other. Instead it was the day that your face would act as a canvas, with your cousins stroking their hands on you with any rung(colour) they could find.

Mischievous as I was, I stood near the veranda with my two cousins and my sister. I snickered beneath my t-shirt. The innocent civilians would never know what hit them. I mean, it was their fault for being so careless on the day where children were set free to wreak havoc .

I gripped onto my water balloons and started to throw them at people. For once, Dang, the district of Nepal, known for its humidity, was filled with water. My cousins and sister followed my lead. We were all throwing, laughing, wishing this day would never end, after all, after Surya would be replaced by Chandra, we knew we would have to wait another 365 boring days.

However, my amusement had blurred my common sense. Why hadn’t I remembered that it was Holi, the day where people could return the favour and throw things at you as well?!

My cousins and sister saw it coming and dodged. However I was too slow. Spalt! The egg had landed on my chest. Although I could feel the yolk dripping, the feelings of humiliation weighed far greater.

“Mamuuuu,” I began to cry out.

My mother - who was always prepared for the worst - saw the yellow substance that was smeared onto my shirt and began to laugh.

“Come on Arnima,” she called out to me. “It’s time to take a bath.”

To a child, a bath is torture.

That’s when I realized the truth of Holi. The day where you can have fun, however, you must also have the brains to read the moves of everyone else.

Yours Truly,

Arnima

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Picture Credits to Divya Agrawal, Unsplash